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When I was around 10 or 11 years old, I would bike and notice an ominous looking building with a crazy symbol on the upper right hand side of the building on my way to and from school. I would never see anyone in the daytime come in or out this building. I would ask people what goes on at this building. I would get the same answer “it’s a men’s club”. 30 years later, I came across this symbol again at daily mass and decided I would check it out.

The Knights of Columbus was founded by Father Michael J. McGivney, assistant pastor of St. Mary’s Church in New Haven and some of his parishioners, the Connecticut state legislature on March 29, 1882, officially chartered the Knights of Columbus as a fraternal benefit society. The Order is still true to its founding principles of charity, unity and fraternity.

The Knights was formed to render financial aid to members and their families. Mutual aid and assistance are offered to sick, disabled and needy members and their families. Social and intellectual fellowship is promoted among members and their families through educational, charitable, religious, social welfare, war relief and public relief works.

The history of the Order shows how the foresight of Father Michael J. McGivney, whose cause for sainthood is being investigated by the Vatican, brought about what has become the world’s foremost Catholic fraternal benefit society. The Order has helped families obtain economic security and stability through its life insurance, annuity and long-term care programs, and has contributed time and energy worldwide to service in communities.

The Knights of Columbus has grown from several members in one council to more than 14,000 councils and 1.8 million members throughout the United States, Canada, the Philippines, Mexico, Poland, the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, Panama, the Bahamas, the Virgin Islands, Cuba, Guatemala, Guam and Saipan.

I am honored to serving the Knights here in my community for the past 3 years as a 2nd degree Knight, newsletter editor and recently Warden for my council. Please take the time to review what the Knights are all about. Below are the order’s principles:

Our Principles

All the good works we do are informed by our four core principles:

Charity – Our Catholic faith teaches us to “Love thy neighbor as thyself.” Members of the Knights of Columbus show love for their neighbors by conducting food drives and donating the food to local soup kitchens and food pantries, by volunteering at Special Olympics, and by supporting, both spiritually and materially, mothers who choose life for their babies. Knights recognize that our mission, and our faith in God, compels us to action. There is no better way to experience love and compassion than by helping those in need, a call we answer every day.

Unity – None of us is as good as all of us. Members of the Knights of Columbus all know that – together – we can accomplish far more than any of us could individually. So we stick together…we support one another. That doesn’t mean that we always agree or that there is never a difference of opinion. It does mean that – as a Knight of Columbus – you can count on the support and encouragement of your brother Knights as you work to make life better in your parish and community.

Fraternity – The Venerable Michael J. McGivney founded the Knights of Columbus, in large part, to provide assistance to the widows and children left behind when the family breadwinner died – often prematurely. The Order’s top-rated insurance program continues to do this today, as do individual Knights, who last year gave more than 10 million hours of their time to assist sick and/or disabled members and their families. In the Knights of Columbus, we watch out for and take care of one another.

Patriotism – Members of the Knights of Columbus, be they Americans, Canadians, Mexicans, Cubans, Filipinos, Poles, or Dominicans, are patriotic citizens. We are proud of our devotion to God and country, and believe in standing up for both. Whether it’s in public or private, the Knights remind the world that Catholics support their nations and are amongst the greatest citizens.

As of November 0f 2013, I have been implementing this principle called the Pareto Principle and it has changed every facet of my life. For example, every last week of the month, I would reasearch and cram all of the information needed to create my men’s organization monthly newsletter. Now, I simply focus and gather information once a week on a section of the newsletter.

“The greatest thing about the 80/20 Principle is that you do not need towait for everyone else. You can start to practise it in your professional and personal life. You can take your own small fragments of greatestachievement, happiness and service to others and make them a much largerpart of your life. You can multiply your highs and cut out most of yourlows. You can identify the mass of irrelevant and low-value activity andbegin to shed this worthless skin. You can isolate the parts of yourcharacter, workstyle, lifestyle and relationships that, measured against thetime or energy involved, give you value many times greater than the dailygrind; and, having isolated them, you can, with no little courage anddetermination, multiply them. You can become a better, more useful andhappier human being. And you can help others to do the same.”

Meditation: Do you pray with joy and confidence? The Jews were noted for their devotion to prayer. Formal prayer was prescribed for three set
times a day. And the rabbis had a prayer for every occasion. Jesus warns his disciples against formalism, making prayer something mechanical and devoid
of meaning, with little thought for God. When Jesus taught his disciples to pray he gave them the disciple s prayer, what we call the Our Father or Lord’s Prayer. This prayer dares to call God our Father and boldly asks for the things we need to live as his sons and daughters.

It is through the gift of the Holy Spirit that we can know God personally and call him Abba, Father (Romans 8:15). We can approach God our
Father with confidence and boldness because Jesus Christ has opened the way to heaven for us through his death and resurrection. When we ask God for
help, he fortunately does not give us what we deserve. Instead, he responds with grace and favor and mercy. It is his nature to love generously and to
forgive mercifully. When he gives he gives more than we need so we will have something to share with others in their need as well.

God is kind and forgiving towards us and he expects us to treat our neighbor the same. Do you treat others as they deserve, or do you treat them as the
Lord would treat you with his grace and favor and mercy? Jesus prayer includes an injunction that we must ask God to forgive us in proportion as we forgive those who have wronged us. Ask the Lord to free your heart of any anger, bitterness, resentment, selfishness, indifference, or coldness towards others.
Let the Holy Spirit fill you with the fire of his burning love and compassion and with the river of his overflowing mercy and kindness.

Father in heaven, you have given me a mind to know you, a will to serve you, and a heart to love you. Give me today the grace and strength to embrace
your holy will and fill my heart with your love that all my intentions and actions may be pleasing to you. Give me the grace to be charitable in thought,
kind in deed, and loving in speech towards all.”